Blue Jays offence awakes in Game 4 win over Indians

To have a pulse you have to have a beating heart, and the beating heart of this ball club plays third base.

Josh Donaldson spent the better part of a pre-game meeting with his teammates delivering emotion from the bottom of his soul, then turned that same emotion into the engine that drove them to a 5-1 victory. From the home run that gave Toronto its first lead in the series to the handful of defensive plays that galvanized the team’s defence, Donaldson was at the centre of the Blue Jays effort to stave off elimination.

That pulse remains faint and thready and the patient may not survive the week, but there was no doubting the will to live on Tuesday night.

The Indians still hold a commanding 3-1 advantage in the series and have three more chances to put Toronto away — including Game 5 Wednesday afternoon — but that’s one less than they had going into Game 4.

Aaron Sanchez tossed six strong innings, limiting Cleveland’s opportunistic offence to just a pair of hits and as many walks, one of which came around to score the Indians’ only run.

Donaldson’s solo home run in the third finally gave Toronto its first lead in the series — and they held it for the duration. Ezequiel Carrera drove in a second run with a single in the fifth and Edwin Encarnacion’s two-run single in the seventh gave Toronto a three-run cushion. Carrera later tripled and scored Toronto’s final run on a Kevin Pillar sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

Indians’ manager Terry Francona went for the throat in this one, trying for the sweep by bringing his ace, Corey Kluber, back on three days’ rest. Now Kluber will have to sit and watch as Ryan Merritt, a 24-year-old lefty with one major-league start under his belt, takes the ball in Game 5 to oppose Toronto’s Marco Estrada.

Donaldson said he simply didn’t want to let this opportunity slip away and that’s why he implored his teammates so emotionally.

“It was just about getting everybody’s attention and focus and understanding,” said Donaldson. “I mean everybody knew how important today was.

“But at the same time I wanted to reinforce that and let the boys know I was coming to play today. When you get down three games to none, there is some frustration that’s involved in that. Fact of the matter is, I’m not ready to go home and I feel like our team is capable of winning this entire thing.”

Kluber went five innings, threw 89 pitches and was tagged for two runs, including the Donaldson homer. If it came to that, Francona has indicated he will bring his ace back in a Game 7, but it was clear that Kluber was not as sharp as he had been in Game 1.

The Indians went more or less quietly the first two innings, but looked as if they might do some business when Tyler Naquin led off the third inning with a line-drive double that got to the wall in left-centre. Catcher Roberto Perez sacrificed him to third, but that’s where he remained. With one out, the Jays pulled the infield in tight and Carlos Santana hit a ground ball right at second baseman Ryan Goins. He looked Naquin back to third and threw out Santana at first. With the infield now back, Jason Kipnis hit another ground ball to Goins to end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, after Kluber had fanned Goins and Bautista in succession, Donaldson worked the count to 2-2, fouled off the fifth pitch and clobbered Kluber’s sixth offering just over the lighted scoreboard at field level in left to put Toronto on the board first. It was not only the first time the Jays had scored first, but the first time they had actually led at any point in the series.

Both he and Sanchez felt that was the turning point.

“I think the moment that made me feel like things were right was when (Donaldson) got us on the board,” said Sanchez, “and then I was out there facing three, four and five (in the top of the fourth) and it was a one-two-three inning that took maybe 10 pitches. Right there, I think was a turning point … let’s go, don’t look back now.”

Sanchez said Donaldson’s heartfelt message was an inspiration.

“He just showed us his emotion,” said Sanchez. “He said understanding it’s a must-win game, just go out there and give everything you’ve got.”

After Sanchez retired the side quickly in the top of the fourth, the Jays struck again in the bottom half, taking advantage of back-to-back, none-out walks issued by Kluber to Tulowitzki and Martin. It was only the third time all season that Kluber had walked consecutive hitters and it was the first time he’d done it leading off an inning. After Saunders struck out, Carrera blooped a single into no-man’s land in short left-centre. Breaking off second, Tulowitzki made a quick, accurate read on the ball and, because of that savvy bit of base-running, scored without a throw to make it 2-0.

Facing the bottom half of the Cleveland lineup in the fifth, Sanchez got Lonnie Chisenhall on a ground ball and a nice play by Donaldson, then walked Coco Crisp. Naquin struck out on a wild pitch, but Crisp went to second on the play, then scored on a Perez double to left-centre. Donaldson then ended the inning with an even better play, diving to snare Santana’s grounder that was headed for left field then gunning Santana down at first base for the third out, preventing Cleveland from tying the game.

When Kluber left the game after five innings and 89 pitches, it became clear that Francona would have to count on a starter other than Kluber getting the job done on the mound.

“We’re trying to win the game,” said Francona. “We talked to Kluber after every inning. And I thought he held his stuff really good. I thought his legs started to get a little tired. And we went out in the sixth, we had somebody up, but he got them out.”

Sanchez was lifted after six outstanding innings, having allowed only the two doubles, one each by the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters. He walked a pair, including Crisp, who scored Cleveland’s first run, the only one allowed by Sanchez, whose innings total went past 200 for the season in this game.

After Brett Cecil tossed a perfect seventh, the Blue Jays opened up some daylight in the bottom of the inning, finally getting to the Cleveland bullpen for the first time in the series. After Goins singled to lead off, Bautista hit a little nubber about 30 feet down the third base line, reliever Bryan Shaw threw the ball away at first, committing Cleveland’s first error of the series and putting runners at first and third.

Francona elected to walk Donaldson intentionally, loading the bases with nobody out for Encarnacion. He responded with a bullet up the middle that went for a single and plated two runs to give Toronto a 4-1 lead.